In Dream
by CodePolaris
Summary: "Long,flaming hair. A sword in hand.A cold expression that looks down at me as I look up from a demolished practice dummy." Elsword remembers that day, as he opened his eyes to a cold, empty house. How he had waited for his sister who never came back, befor he resigned himself to her disappearance.Can he turn away from his past that haunts him and look forward to a brighter future?
1. Chapter 1 Always

**Ho, readers! That is, if anyone bothers to read this.**

**This is my second fiction, but I deleted the former, and I'll probably post it again sometime later, when I have a steady plot and a good structure for it :D**

**I guess I did feel guilty, because someone did favorite _Aqua Eyes_, and I didn't notice until I deleted it.**

**I just love the male characters in Elsword, except Raven(..)...**

**Elsword- Lord Knight**

**Aisha - Elemental Master**

**Rena - Grand Archer**

**Raven - Blade Master**

**Eve - Code Empress**

**Chung - Iron Paladin**

**Don't ask me why it's Iron Paladin, I'm just the type that likes[ male characters that are too pretty to be a boy] :D!**

**Anyways, Enjoy!**

* * *

Every night, I dream of her. Long, flaming red hair not unlike mine tied in a ponytail, flicking in the breeze stirred up by the swish of a sword. And her cold gaze, the one I see, every day, as I look up from a slashed-up

dummy made of dry grass. The one that she uses on no one but me, the one that tells me I have not yet been approved by her, the one that tells me I am not qualified.

Every day, I pick up my sword, in the hopes that I will one day see the carefree smile I had missed for so long, the one that she used to give me before she turned so cold, so unapproachable.

And the day she left.

I wake to the sound of birds twittering, a normal sound that I had grown accustomed to every morning. I dress and step out of my room, only to find the room across from me, empty, a cold, unfamiliar sight.

I dart inside. Her belongings are gone, the room as cold and frigid as ice. I shake my head, tears forming in my eyes. She could not have gone, not, not, not.

But I know, in that moment, that I will not see her for a long time, maybe even never again.

Elesis.

Why did you leave? Why had you suddenly grown apart from me, your brother? Why had you given me that silent, icy look, instead of the grin that I had loved so much?

Was I a failure?

Was I someone you just could not bear to be with, a over-energetic, easily distracted red-haired boy with a hot head that you had pretended to love? Did I do something wrong?

Every night, I dream of you, but not the cheerful, happy girl that everyone thought you were. That is just a hazy memory. My mind now processes the thought of you as someone who has not yet come back, someone

who has an uninterested, icy, crimson gaze, the one I saw in the few times you bothered to look at me.

Someone who left me there, alone, wounded,not physically, but emotionally, a hole in my heart that, as of yet, has not been healed.

Elesis...

* * *

"Elsword!"

Elsword opened his eyes to a girl's voice next to his bed.

" Wake up, sleepyhead! You slept for too long! It's nearly noon!"

Elsword sat up, rubbed the lethargy out of his eyes, and focused on the violet-haired girl in front of him.

" I always sleep in.. Why are you complaining now?"

"You're telling me you forgot we're going to Hamel today? You were the one who was all excited about going to 'the city of water' or something. Even more than Chung."Aisha huffed as Elsword stuck his head back

under the covers.

He said, in a voice that suggested he had not gotten a good night's sleep," Oh, yeah... Sorry."

Aisha frowned. Elsword was not the type to say sorry to anyone, especially to her. But then, she seemed to be the only one who noticed that Elsword seemed more tired and melancholy these days. Well, maybe

Chung had noticed, as he was the red-head's best friend.

She remembered the conversation a few days ago, when she had woken from her sleep and gone downstairs for a drink of water when she noticed a familiar silhouette outside, in the courtyard of their temporary

rented house. She'd gone outside, and stood next to Elsword, who had worn a face of such sadness and pain that Aisha hadn't known he was capable of making.

She'd asked," What happened?"

"Nothing... Just had a bad dream."

Inquisitive, she had asked," What kind?"

She saw him hesitate before reluctantly answering," About.. Well.. My sister."

"The one that left?"

When he did not reply, she'd hurriedly said, "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to.. I mean.. I'd understand if-"

"No.. It's okay. It's about time I told someone why I came on an adventure with you guys," Elsword cut her off," I came here to look for my sister. She.. She was the head of the Crimson Knights. She used to be really

nice.. Then she..."

He had stopped with a faraway expression. After a rather long pause, Aisha had whispered," Uh, Elsword? You okay?"

He'd come out of his trance suddenly, apologized, and continued on with his story.

She remembered shedding thick tears at the words that came after the tale.

" I.. Don't know why she left, but.. I think.. I was just too much of a responsibility to her. I got in the way of her training because she needed to look after me, a overeager, hot-tempered little brother. Now, I'm not

sure if she even loved me."

" No!" She'd yelled, startling him, and whispered," She probably left because of another reason. It couldn't have been you.. Why would she leave because of you?"

"Lots of reasons." Elsword had muttered under his breath, tears slowly dripping down his, now that she'd seen him in a new light, rather good -looking, angular face. After a few moments of silence, he bade her,

barely audibly, good night, and he had gone back into the house and into the room the two shared. A few minutes later, Aisha had also headed back inside, and into the room, to find Elsword lying on his bed, his back

turned, apparently sleeping. But Aisha had known that he was wide awake, for fear the memory of his sister would once again worm inside his dreams and haunt him.

Aisha woke from her sudden flashback to see the redheaded boy staring back at her. And as she thougt of the story Elsword had told her, apparently Elsword remembered it too, because his expression darkened and

his eyes seemed to lose its luster, just for a second.

But immediately he replaced his arid expression with a slightly happier one, and said," Come on! Everyone must be waiting for us downstairs." He got up from he bed, stretched, and left the room, his light footsteps

vibrating on the stairs. Aisha followed, her mind still on the redhead.

Downstairs, the rest of the gang were making plans for defeating the Shadow demons that had been making moves on Hamel once more.

With a map spread out on the table before him, Chung was teaching others the roads, structures of the monsters' dwellings, and tactics for killing the monsters.

"This is the Resiam Outskirts," he said, pointing to a certain point on the map." The monsters here, Shadow Charg- oh, hey, Els. Kinda late for the morning today huh?"

"Yeah- I su-su-suppose so." Elsword stifled a yawn." Anyway, go on with what you were saying."

"Huh- oh, right... As I was saying," Chung continued, but not after throwing Elsword a concerned look that seemed lost on everyone except Aisha. So he had noticed, Aisha thought.

"The monsters here are mostly Shadow Chargers, Shadow Walkers, Shadow Defenders, Shadow Snipers, and Lagus. They charge you, grab at you, shoot beams of light, throw spikes, encase you in water bubbles..

Almost anything you can think of." Chung finished, making a face that suggested that his previous encounter with said demons had not been pleasant.

"Hamel seems pretty dangerous if you don't know what you're doing," Rena remarked as she was picking up dishes from the countertops and setting them down on the table." But we'll have to leave for Hamel soon,

so eat up!"

As everyone sat down to eat Rena's well-cooked( but vegetarian) meal, Eve asked,"Why is it that Hamel got invaded?"

Chung's expression darkened, and he chewed his food thoughtfully." The Shadows wanted to conquer the Senas Republic, and eventually the whole of Elrios. I guess they thought to invade the capital of it first-

Hamel."

"Ah."

Aisha noticed Elsword wasn't listening, but staring out at the window, at the crystal blue sky. She wanted to say, don't dwell on your past,look forward to the future, but she couldn't, not in front of the others.

The rest of the morning passed extremely quickly by, in Elsword's opinion. It was a flurry of activities, as each of them packed their belongings, fixed and polished their weapons, and restocked on potions. Then it was

time for them to leave the small inn-like house Vanessa had provided them with. Slowly, everyone had grown attached to it, and did not like the prospect of leaving, even if it was just for a few months.

After a few moments of silence, standing in front of the house, Rena whispered," Let's go."

They set off towards the docks where the boat that would carry them to Hamel was tied.

* * *

The deck was quiet except for the swish of the sea on the wooden planks, the cries of the gulls overhead, and silent footsteps on the floor of the boat.

Elsword rested his arms, tired from lifting up furniture and stacking them in a shed, on the railings. He looked down at the sea, its color the exact same hue as Chung's eyes, and reflecting the semi-cloudy sky.

He sighed. Elsword didn't know whether to want to go to Hamel or not. True, he'd always wanted to go to the city of water, and had envied Chung for being born there, but a few days ago, he'd heard that the

Crimson Knights had come back to Hamel to assist it once more.

He did want to see his sister once more, albeit from a distance as someone she didn't recognize. But he wondered if Elesis shared those feelings of lonesome longing for her family. She'd left him once before, and

Elsword didn't see a reason why she wouldn't again.

The boat rocked, and Elsword shook himself out of his misery and tried to focus on a more cheerful thought.

Tried to.

She lingered in the back of her mind,and he couldn't let go. She was the reason he was on this journey, the anchor to his sanity, and was the center of his life. He'd always had a sister complex, and was teased a lot

because of it, but what were you supposed to do, when she's the only family you had left?

His train of thoughts were interrupted by a particularly rough rocking of the ship, as it pulled into Pluone's bay and was tied to the dock by crew mates who jumped quickly off the ship.

He walked over to the rest of the group, who were all chatty and excited about the city, especially one particular boy who'd had a home here. As they walked down the steps that led to solid ground( thank god,

Elsword thought. He hadn't known he was seasick, as he'd never been on a boat.)

As they properly took in their surroundings for the first time, Elsword forgot about his troubles for a moment and marveled in the beauty of the city of flowing waters.

* * *

**Review please, a review really helps me to motivate myself for the next chapters...**


	2. Chapter 2 Lose Myself in the Fight

**Hello :3 Me again... STOP BOOING.**

**I'm sorry I didn't update, but my computer basically broke down, and had to get a new one... :?**

**Well, here's the next chapter, to anyone reading this.**

**Elsword- Lord Knight**

**Aisha - Elemental Master**

**Rena - Grand Archer**

**Raven - Blade Master**

**Eve - Code Empress**

**Chung - Iron Paladin**

* * *

"And I would like you to scout through the Resiam Outskirts first." Penensio finished as the group wearily listened to his long report about the Shadow Monsters.

Vanessa had sent them to Hamel and told them to meet Penensio, leader of the Crimson Knights. Elsword had been secretly relieved the leader was not his sister anymore. God, that would have been awkward. But he was also disappointed that it wasn't. Much as he wanted to deny it, he'd been looking forward to seeing his sister.

When the group stood up, and walked out the door, he asked Penensio," Er.. Could I please speak with you privately?"

The knight looked startled." Ah, yes, sure."

Elsword motioned for the rest of the puzzled gang to go and wait for him outside."I'll be out in a sec," he said with a grin." so just go do whatever, okay?"

"Alright then, I'll be training." The raven-haired man said with a shrug and left the room.

"Good day to you, Penensio." Rena said as she left the room with Eve, who nodded her farewell with a gracious dip of her head.

That left Aisha and Chung. The two looked at each other, glanced at Elsword, then left the room.

Elsword sat down, and sighed.

"So..I wanted to talk about..."

* * *

When the rest of the party had gathered in front of the building, and Raven had gone off to the training grounds, Rena had followed, saying she needed to hone her aiming had gone to do who-knows what, although she had insisted she needed to collect data about Hamel, where she'd never been before.

When Aisha turned to follow Eve in her exploration, Chung grabbed her arm, holding her in place.

"Hey, erm, could I talk to you, Aisha?"

Said mage frowned."First Elsword, now you. What's it about?"

"Uh, well, it's actually about Elsword. He doesnt seem himself these days. More depressed or something. Thought you might know something about it."

"So you did notice!" Aisha was surprised.

"What do you mean, noticed. Of course I did! I'm his best friend!" Chung muttered." So why is he upset?"

"Ah, er, well... It's because of his sister."Aisha hesitated, then told him the story. "When he was young, he had a sister, Elesis. She was nice at first, then she turned cold as she was immersed in her work in the Crimson Knights."Chung's eyes grew wider as she continued to tell Elsword's story."He wanted to be noticed and approved by her, but he never one day, she just left. He entered the El Search Party mostly because he wanted to find her."

"Oh... I wondered why he never talked about his family. But what about his other family?Mother? Fathe-... Wait..." He drew out the word," you're not saying Elesis was his ONLY family?"

"That's exactly what I meant. He's in the same situation as you."

Chung's eyes grew distant as he remembered that day, full of the stench of blood, both from humans and demons, and the controlling of his father. He felt a strange feeling in his heart, an empty, hollow feeling.

Then he realized, he was empathizing with his friend. He knew that feeling that rushed through one when they realized they are the last one of their line, alone in this huge world. It was like the world weighed on his shoulders. Chung hated to think another person, and his friend nevertheless, had felt it.

I know how it feels, Chung thought. It hurts..

Then Aisha, oblivious to the blue- eyed boy next to her drifting off for a few moments, said," We have to help him find his sister... But we can't do anything!"

Chung, with a determined look in his eyes, said," He'll meet her again. Fate can't abandon good people. He'll see her again..."

Aisha whispered," I hope."

* * *

"So.. I wanted to talk to you about..about my sister."

Penensio frowned."Your sister... Do I know her? What is her name?"

Elsword hesitated, then answered," Elesis."

The Crimson Knights' leader's eyes got wider for a second, then retracted to their normal size." Ah... Elesis is your sister? I had no idea.. She never mentioned any family, I assumed she was alone."

That hurt. She'd never mentioned her family? Elsword kept his hurt inside and asked his next question." Do you know where she is?"

"I'm afraid not,"Penensio said, his frown carving deep canyons on his face."She left about an year and a half ago, to do who-knows-what. She said something about searching for-someone, something, somewhere, but I didn't quite catch it. I assumed she went back to her homeland, wherever it is."

"Ruben," Elsword breathed." But our house.. was abandoned. I don't think she's I haven't been there since.." He faltered, but Penensio did not press for details. The knight had his own guesses to the redhead's story, which, actually, were quite accurate.

"I'm sorry I couldn't give you more information, but I haven't heard from Elesis in ages. Never, in fact, since she left."

Elsword seemed to ponder something, then stood up and thanked Penensio.

" Thank you so much... Please, tell me if you hear from her, please..."

"Of course. And good luck in finding Elesis. She's rather elusive." Penensio said with a wry smile.

Elsword replied," Thank you, smiled, and left.

Penensio sat on his chair for a few more moments, and thought, Good luck, Elsword.

* * *

A few hours later, all of them had gathered in the town square. They admired the flowing waterfalls, the water seemingly gushing out of nowhere, and for an hour, roamed around the city, exploring it, and met again in the same spot.

When everyone had enjoyed their fill of the city, Rena said," It's still mid-afternoon. What do we do now?"

Everyone was silent, until Chung piped up," Didn't Penensio ask us to scout the Resiam outskirts?"

A realization spread over the gang as they perceived that none of them, not even Rena or Eve, had actually really listened to the knight's lengthy and boring talk about the demons in the outer part of Hamel.

"...True, we should go when the sun still shines." Eve admitted before summoning her two assistants." Oberon, Ophelia, we are going into battle. Accompany us." The mute robots nodded, and took their spots behind Eve.

They all walked over to Hamel's outskirts, littered with the ruins of fallen buildings, and entered the tunnel that led to the Resiams.

"Argh, it's cold in here."

"There seems to be almost no dry spot in Hamel.. Ick, mud puddle!"

"Ophelia, I would like you to observe carefully and collect as much data as possible. Understood?"

The party reached an open space, where they saw hundreds of strange demons milling about. They quickly retreated back into the shadows of the tunnel and planned strategies to attack them.

"Chung, can you point out the monsters and what they do?"

"Sure," the long-haired cannoneer answered. He pointed to each monster in turn." Shadow Chargers," he said, pointing to a monster." They, erm, charge you and kind of hug.. you, making it impossible to mo e."

"Ick, HUG you? That's repulsive." Aisha wrinkled her nose.

"Er, yeah.. And that's a Shadow Stinger...Shadow Walker,"... Shadow Snipers..."

Elsword wasn't paying much attention. He observed the black monsters that seemed to move across the ground without touching it. He estimated the amount to be about two thousand. He grimaced, as they were supposed to face them, six.. well, eight with Oberon and Ophelia, to thousands.

And suddenly he was hit over the top of his head by Aisha.

"Hey, wake up, ElDork! We're going in."

"Uh... So what's the plan again?" He asked, feeling dumb.

"We're going to try to sneak up as quietly as we can, and ambush them as best as we can." Chung said with a grin that told the others he was anxious to destroy the monsters that ruined his life."So, begin now?"

"On the count of three," Rena whispered." One.. two...three... Go."

The six dispersed in different directions, each trying their best to sneak up quietly.

Of course, with a certain rowdy violet mage, that wasn't exactly easy.

Aisha tripped on a broken piece of a sword, and nearly tumbled to the ground, until Elsword, forever quick reflexes, caught her and covered her mouth before she yelled out.

"Shhh! You're going to blow our cover!"

"I'm sorry! My foot slipped, and I-"

"Okay, okay, it's fine, just be more careful next time." Elsword unsheathed his sword, and mouthed to Rena,"Now?"

The elf nodded, then signaled the others. She held up three fingers-on the count of three. She slowly put them down, one by one, and everyone tensed, getting into a ready position.

Rena put down the last finger.

The field of monsters erupted in chaos, and the first few ranks of monsters disintegrated without a chance to fight back. The rest of the demons stopped in their tracks in shock, then gathered themselves and charged at the gang.

In less than thirty minutes, the whole militia of demons were reduced to piles of dust, nothing remaining of them except their weapons.

Eve walked over to a gate that led to the inner parts of the Resiams. She tapped it, and ordered her Nasods to break it down.

" There are more on the other side. It seems we shall have to go through much more demons before we get to the one who controls them."

"..Ah. That figures. They would have monsters waiting to stop intruders on the outside, and have stronger, more powerful ones on the inside defending their master. War strategy." Raven looked thoughtful.

"Well then, let's head on."Eve stepped through the gates and was swallowed by the darkness." What are you all doing? Follow me, we have a mission to accomplish"Her voice drifted to them in the darkness.

The rest of the gang followed, wary of any sound they heard. As they got closer to the light at the end of what seemed a tunnel, the shuffling and the conversations of monsters could be tried to make out any eligible words, then realized the demons' language was not of the ones they spoke.

The party reached the light, and saw monsters larger than the ones they had just faced. Eve glanced at the rest of them behind her, then she gave the signal to attack. Great. So no preparing.

And they charged.

* * *

Behind them, a cloaked figure watched the six warriors take out dozens of monsters at a time, plowing through the rows and rows of shadowy forms, reducing them to wisps of smoke. The cloaked person smiled under the midnight-black hood of the cloak, and thought, "It seems they don't need help."

The unidentified person turned and walked back into the tunnel, his outline fading to meet the darkness.

* * *

**Thank you to the people who reviewed[Rin, Distillation] ! I didn't expect any, because Elsword is not very popular in here... why?**

**Review please... even an anonymous review helps! :D**


	3. Chapter 3 Blur

**Hello :3 Me again ! With another chapter... of this crappy story-**

**This chapter may be a little boring, but there's something really important to this story at the end of this chapter.**

**And the story progresses-**

**Elsword- Lord Knight**

**Aisha - Elemental Master**

**Rena - Grand Archer**

**Raven - Blade Master**

**Eve - Code Empress**

**Chung - Iron Paladin**

* * *

The group reached the final gate, and without hesitation, smashed it to bits. When they walked out of the other end of the final tunnel, what met their eyes was a huge, twisted monster with deadly-looking was smoke from the waist down.

When it spoke, Aisha squeaked and took a step back besides Raven. In a deep, gravelly, and overly threatening voice, it growled," Welcomeee toooo HELLLLLLL. I shallllll send you ALLLLLL to the deptssss of ittt."

"Like hell it would- oops, bad pun."Elsword muttered under his breath, then he shouted,"Let's see your face after we beat the crap out of you!"

The monster made a grotesque face, that seemed as if he was smiling. " Very well. But beware, I am the feared Shadow Master!"

Everyone tensed as they took their respective battle stances. The monster seemed to sneer-well, it would have been a sneer if it had a more humanlike face." Go on, attack! I will like to see your faces when I take you to my master!"

With a yell, everyone charged at the monster. It instantly summoned a dark fire around itself, and when Rena accidentally stepped into it, she yelped and recoiled as if burned by a real frowned." be careful of that stuff!" She yelled to the others as she jumped over the ring of fire.

Eve glided up, and landed behind the Shadow Master, as it had called itself. She immediately ordered her drones and her two assistants to attack the monster. Before long, the others had joined in, all attacking the monster with their most powerful strikes.  
They thought the monster did not stand a chance, until it suddenly when into stoic-and showered them with dark balls of fire that burned. They managed to dodge the majority of them, but the wounds inflicted by them slowly seeped their mana away, and had dealt heavy damage to all of them.

Everyone staggered to their feet, only to see another wave of fire balls coming their way. Eve's assistants had malfunctioned, due to the huge amount of dark energy they had come in contact with, instead of the normally mild El's power that they ran on. Eve was out.

Rena yelled out," I'm out of arrows!"

"Aisha, can't you do something?"

"I can't! There's too much dark magic in the air! Argh, I feel useless!"

We're doomed, Elsword thought. The mighty El Search Gang is doomed, right here.

The monster laughed, as each of them searched for anything to attack the monster with. It laughed as Aisha frantically tried to collect some mana. It laughed as Raven clutched his nasod arm and growled. It laughed as Rena looked for any arrows not broken in two. It laughed as Chung strained to keep his Guardian Stone from being infected by the dark energy. But it didn't notice as Eve slowly rose up into the air, a blue aura around her, and it howled in pain when a huge fist fell out of the sky and crushed it.

"I do not need my assistants' help to do that." Eve stared down at the defeated monster coldly.

Everyone else stared."Wow.. Eve, you are our lifesaver!" Rena yelled.

"And probably not for the last time, with the amount of dark magic here." Eve turned, and entered a command for her assistants.

The two Nasods appeared next to Eve, and bowed to her in apology.

"I suggest you two increase your defense against dark energy, and consume more El Shards with the Dark affinity; same for you, Aisha, and you too, Chung. Your powers are useless when vast amounts of dark magic is opposing you."

Aisha swallowed, feeling more useless than ever.

Raven, who had been quiet for most of their time inside the dungeon, said,"Ah, well. All ended well. Shall we head back?"

"Y..Yes, and let's hurry...It's getting harder to k-keep the dark magic a-away.." Chung stuttered. He seemed sick from the dark energy.

The group headed quickly back through the tunnels, and walked back over to where Penensio stood, talking with a couple of knights.

"Ah, the lot of you are back." Penensio said when he spotted them coming his way." You are dismissed,"he added to the knights he'd been talking to." I hope you have a report?"

"Yes." Eve replied in a curt voice." All monsters in the Resiam Outskirts removed. Commander of them, the Shadow Monster as he calls himself, removed. "

Penensio looked pleased."Thank you all. We've lost so many men in Hamel's Outskirts. We now have six warriors who are strong enough to oppose these monsters.."

Elsword saw that his best friend doubled up, and his face was drained of color." Excuse me, but I think we need to go. One of us was seriously affected by the darkness in there."

"Huh? What do you mean- oh my goodness, are you okay, Chung?" Rena and Aisha was next to him in a flash.

"I..er..I'll b-be okay after s-some sleep...Damn the dark magic..."

Penensio looked over,and in a concerned voice, said," I suggest you all go back to wherever you are staying. It is almost nightfall, and you do have a mission tomorrow..You all are dismissed."

The group made their way through the beautiful white streets of Hamel, and got to the small inn they stayed at, where Chung immediately collapsed onto his bed and groaned.

"Nng...I hate dark magic...I'm so glad you chose elemental magic instead of dark magic,Aisha, or I would have been sick everywhere.." Chung groaned into his pillow.

"Here, drink this before you really get need as much people as we can get to protect your city, you know.."Aisha held out a bottle of healing potion."Not to metion you are kind of our only guide..?"

The blond wearily sat up, and took the red bottle. He gave it a glance, then drained the contents in one gulp."Thanks."

"Ah, well, we have another place to strip stupid monsters of tomorrow, right? Better get some rest." Elsword walked in and plonked down next to Chung who had collapsed right back and had pulled the covers over himself."Remind me, why are you so sick? The rest of us aren't really affected."

"It's his Guardian Stone,"Aisha reminded him." It has the same properties as the El, and it reacts with any dark auras."

"Right...Eve was correct, we both need more dark energy resistance. Anyone have more Dark El shards?"

"Raven or Eve should have a lot, they both need energy for the Nasod part of them to move or do anything." Elsword yawned and said,"I'll go get some.. Got nothing better to do anyway." He got up and trudged over to the door, opened it, and left, only to return a few minutes later with an armful of purplish pieces of stone.

"There you go, that is enough, right?"Elsword asked."Eve got pissed when I asked her for some, she slapped me again, but she gave you guys some anyway."He pointed to a hand-shaped mark on his face."Honestly, that girl has a serious tsundere character."

Elsword watched as his two friends used the El shards to increase their defense against Darkness, then said," I'll go catch some Z's.. So tired... G'Night, you guys."

"'Night!"

"Good night!"

The red-haired boy silently walked over to his and Aisha's room, and laid down on his bed. He mulled over the events of the day, from his conversation with Penensio to Eve's heroic act, his eyes half closed, and slowly, fell into a peaceful sleep, and for once, dreamed of a pleasant memory.

* * *

The rest of the week passed uneventfully, with them slashing, setting fire to, shooting, clawing, and swinging at monsters left and right. They had gone to an underwater dungeon, where it was hard to move, and had faced a serpent. They had gone to an ancient- looking waterway, nearly being crushed by a dog- like creature and a rather insane giant with nails stuck everywhere on his body. They'd faced a giant spider that spurted out poison. They'd faced a ghost magician(Aisha had been rather pissed that it used elemental magic, and started firing blizzard shards and missiles everywhere. It hadn't stood a chance.). There was only one place left to go.

The Water Temple Shrine.

They had heard of the dark magician who controlled every monster in Hamel. He was said to be incredibly powerful, and the Crimson Knights had lost hundreds of men to him.

Penensio had advised them to get a _very_ good night's rest before tackling the one almost-impossible mission, and that is exactly what they were doing.

Everyone in the small inn was sound asleep, without a care in the world for that moment. Elsword dreamed of a time when they were at Bethma, and they had nearly lost the only map they had. It was funny, when he had been inside the memory in a dream, but it hadn't been nearly so hilarious at the time.

Then his dream shifted, and he was in a cave, his vision blurry. He didn't know what was going on, except for the fact that he couldn't move, and he suddenly percieved a burning pain, dulled by the fact that it was a dream, but it burned nevertheless.

His dream shifted once more, and he was in the same cave, with the same blurry vision. But he saw a cloaked figure, sword in hand, and slashing his bonds away. The figure's angular face was mostly covered in shadows, and with his blurry vision, Elsword could not make out his features, but the figure opened his mouth to say something-".."

Then he woke, covered in sweat and panting.

"Elsword! You okay?"Aisha stood next to him, and he could barely make out that she was frowning in worry.

"Yeah.. I just...I just had a bad dream."

"What was it? Was it..was it your sister again?"

He hesitated, and said," I'm not sure what it was.. It was kind of blurry, and I couldn't move in the dream." He told her what he remembered from his nightmare.

The mage frowned." Hmm... You say a cave? I don't get this.. but it's probably something insignificant that your sleeping mind conjured out of a scary memory. Don't worry about it."

"Okay..." Deep down, Elsword wasn't convinced, but he didn't contradict his friend." Well, better get a good night's sleep. 'Night, Aisha." He turned away, closed his eyes, and fell fast asleep again when he heard the sound of bedsprings creaking, and the rustling of blankets.

This time, he didn't dream about the cave.

* * *

**Again, thanks to the people who reviewed! I live on reviews o.o...**

**His dream at the end is really important to the plot!**

**I really want to go to the important parts of the story, but oh well, have to write stuff in between, right? :3**

**See you next time!**


	4. Chapter 4 A Sinister Celebration

**Hey- me again-**

**I'm about to KILL myself. I didn't go onto FFN for a long time , and my email... well, it's packed with about a thousand emails **

**from Facebook, so the alerts and reviews got buried.**

**It's been more than 2 weeks.. I'm so sorry!**

**Well, this chapter is really long, hopefully it contributes!**

**And if you are wondering why I rated this T, it's um, because there's a TINY bit of violence at the end :D**

**and the usual intro of the characters.. /**

**This is for the KR people visiting here: D**

**이 소설을 한국어로 번역해 주면 좋겟다- 라고 생각하시는 분은 리뷰를 남겨주세요! 읽을때 밑에 anonymous/아마도/ 라고 써있는 창 밑에 써주심 됩니다! 바로갑니다- 하지만 조금 느려요 저는. 중학생에게서 뭘 바라지 마세요...아...멘붕..**

**Elsword- Lord Knight**

**Aisha - Elemental Master**

**Rena - Wind Sneaker**

**Raven - Blade Master - was changed from GA due to the progression of the story :3**

**Eve - Code Empress**

**Chung - Iron Paladin**

**Uh, well, this is proofread, but I miss some errors, being just a middle schooler, so I'd appreciate it if you could point out any mistakes!**

* * *

The next morning, the Elgang were up and ready for the final fight. They got their armor and weapons checked up at Horeisho's shop. They stocked up on potions at the alchemist Denka's shop. Then they reported to Penensio at the Crimson Knights' headquarters.

Inside, the room was packed with men, waiting for the six warriors to arrive. When they did, Penensio shushed them and walked over to greet them.

"Ah, you are here. Are you ready to go for the real boss?"

The group exchanged looks and Elsword nodded for all of them.

"Then let's go on. The one who commands all of them is incredibly powerful. He uses dark magic- we do not know much, since there are precious few who have returned from him. But be aware that he is not an opponent to underestimate."

Raven nodded. " I trust that we will be able to defeat him."

"Well, then, I wish you the ultimate luck on your mission. As you can see.. Many of us are counting on have lost their friends against that.. thing."

Aisha looked over Raven's shoulder to see the armoured men looking hopefully back at the group. She felt that familiar sense of anticipation that fluttered in her stomach every time a battle was to come. She couldn't lose to whatever magician awaiting her! She never had, and this time won't be any different, she vowed.

Before long, the group had walked outside and had arrived at the entrance to the first place they had ever faced a Shadow demon. Nobody talked much, in fear that one of them may panic. The group walked through the series of smashed-down gates and tunnels. When they arrived at the one gate they hadn't touched, the group leader hesitated,and whispered," Aisha, can you make this gate disappear instead of us breaking it down?It would give us an advantage."

"Sure thing!" A magic circle appeared at their feet, glowing, and Aisha's hair waved in the breeze. She closed her eyes, and whispered an incantation.

The door shimmered, magical runes appearing around its edges and circling it, then with a blinding burst of light, the runes exploded and the door disappeared, revealing yet another tunnel behind the intricately carved doors.

Chung grinned." Nice one." He walked in, and whispered." Come on!"

The rest of them followed. Aisha had a sudden sense of deja vu, and an image of Eve saying the exact same thing to them appeared in her head. She had a bad feeling about this whole thing, but she shut her mouth and decided to stay silent.

The tunnel progressively got narrower as the warriors passed through, and they were forced to walk in a single file. There were water puddles on the moist floor, too, and occasionally one of them would slip and be steadied by those behind them.

Eventually, the single-file line reached the end of the endless tunnel, after walking-to be exact, slipping and sliding- for what Aisha estimated as about fifteen minutes. They once again heard the noises of monsters talking in their slurry languages and weapons being honed and put in their place.

Chung's voice drifted over from where he stood in the front of the line, hidden in laced his words."Ice-affinity monsters.. You're in for some challenge, Aisha.. Well, actually, they are. That time with the Avalansh.. That was scary."

Elsword held back laughter as he remembered Aisha releasing tons of ice magic-" I'll fight ice with ice, you dumb little skeleton!"-, taking one mana potion after another, on her meditative state for the whole time, and a hurricane of ice, water, and magic churning around her. Without exaggeration, the others had really just watched from the sidelines(and trying not to laugh) while the ghost magician was pummeled into the icy ground by a maniacal, but still very much powerful, violet haired mage. This time, he hoped she wouldn't go that all out, but hopefully enough to eradicate the minor monsters fairly quickly.

This time, everyone was tense, ready for battle immediately. Everyone took a mana potion, and held out their weapons.

One.

Two.

Three.

Immediately, Aisha lashed out and unleashed a shower of red-hot meteors, melting many demons on contact, while some flailed around, on fire. The others followed suit, and soon, the place was full of clouds of dust, arrows, and random bursts of blue and pink. They finished the first chamber in a matter of minutes, and the next, and the next..

When they opened the fourth gate, a familiar sight met them-Chloe.

She'd lost her bows and arrow, and her stance was suspiciously close to Rena's when she used her feet to attack.

She laughed, and yelled out to them, "I told you this was not the end! Go on, attack, this time, I'll cut you to pieces!"

Rena muttered," Chloe just doesn't give up, does she?"

The fellow elf cursed under her breath for a few more moments, then shouted in return:" We'll still win, and protect Hamel! Why don't you just give up and leave?"

The dark elf smirked. She came closer, and said," Because, dear sister, our master has promised us great power when we prevail. He is more powerful than your lot combined!"

"Then I have no choice but to fight you." Rena readied an arrow and fired it straight at the other's heart.

Chloe dodged it expertly, then dove at Rena. Rena jumped and landed behind the elf who turned around and leapt at the other once again.

Their fiery dance continued for a few , Rena was pushed back by Chloe. It seemed Chloe now had to use her legs-uncannily similar to Rena's kicks-to attack.A dark aura encased her legs, like the dark version of Rena tapping into the nature's energy to make her kicks more stepped forward to assist Rena when the elf yelled, "Stay back! This is my fight!"

The mage was about to go and help no matter what the elf said, but an arm held her back. She turned around, and saw a blond-haired boy staring at her with aqua blue eyes. She glared at Chung." What in Elrios are you doing?"

"Look, Rena's gaining the upper hand!" He said, and let go of her wrist to point at the two elves." Rena has good skills and far more battle experience than Chloe, she told us she is older, remember? She'll win." He assured Aisha, who did not look entirely convinced." But-"

A loud yell caused the two of them to turn back to the small fight. Chloe collapsed, and glared at Rena. "You'll never get to my master, even if you defeated me. I swear, I will get you back for this!" Then the dark-skinned elf summoned a glowing pink circle around her, and she disappeared in a flash of light.

"Rena!" Raven dashed over to her to check on her injuries." Are you okay?"

Said elf laughed, and dusted her skirt off." Of course, I have more strength and experience than Chloe... I ended up not even taking a hit! After all, she is about a hundred years younger.."

"But still.." Aisha, Elsword, and Chung looked at each other and grinned in a knowing way as Raven, the normally stoic and cold Raven, continue to fuss over Rena- they had always known there was something between Rena and Raven..

All of them were snapped out of their daydreams and conversations by, once again, Eve, who walked forward to obliterate the gate before turning around and sighing.

"I do not understand how you humans can talk of friendship and love in a crucial situation. Does this venture not mean as much to you as I thought?" With that remark, she turned around and walked into yet another tunnel-Aisha again had that sense of deja vu as she looked at the white-haired empress disappearing into the dark.

The rest of them grinned sheepishly at each other-even Raven-and again slipped and slid along the wide gateway.

* * *

During the journey through the Water Temple, the party encountered monsters already defeated that had been resurrected. When they saw the blue-skinned Conrad, Eve had been enraged by the fact that he-she-it had the nerve to use the knowledge of the ancient Nasods. She immediately assaulted the UFO- electric balls of blue, an exploding spear, and a heavy fist slamming down on the contraption was enough for the short, stubby man/woman/thing to turn and run as fast as he/she/it could with his/her/it's tiny legs.

When they encountered Bobosse the Basher, Chung stepped forward with a scary grin-he'd nearly gotten himself killed the last time he faced Bobosse-and obliterated the monster in just a few strikes-the others gaped as the long-haired cannoneer expertly handled the giant. Chung looked back at them with an oh-so-innocent smile, and said," Come on!"He opened the next gate, and stepped in, his high heels making a clicking sound on the others sweatdropped, looked at each other, and followed suit.

The gang went through many archways and tunnels in a similar manner, occasionally meeting a previously-killed monster in their way. As the group took down monsters left and right, a shadow followed them, ready to intervene when necessary. The figure's lips under the hook of the cloak smiled, as the warriors progressed. It continued to follow the six as they continued in their quest to defeat the lord of the darkness, taking extreme care in not being seen. The lips under the cloak moved, and the figure whispered," At last."

* * *

Aisha trembled in nervous anticipation as she put her shaking hand onto the clear barrier that they knew was the only thing that separated them from the final opponent. When her gloved hand came into contact with the rotating circle, it shattered like glass, allowing them to go forward. She took a deep breath, and said, with a voice so calm it surprised even her," If you guys are ready, let's do it."

Elsword walked forward to stand next to Aisha. He frowned." You think we can um, defeat him, whoever he is?"

"Be optimistic, Els.. We'll get him, six powerful warriors against one, we definitely have the better end of the deal."

"Yeah... Shall we, then?" Rena bravely walked forward. "We gotta get this done."

The rest of them followed. After about a minute of walking, they saw a glowing pink portal in the distance, and a large space behind it with another portal in the middle of it. They reached the portal, and stepped in, in darkness for a millisecond, and appeared at the distant shrine they had sighted.

A cold laughter sent shivers down their spine;it was chilling, and it was as if the owner felt as if he had all the power in the world.

The group looked up, and saw the dreaded magician sitting on a throne. He had long, silver hair covering half of his face, and he donned black and red armor uncannily similar to Chung's. He may have been considered handsome if not for his dark red eyes and pale blue-gray skin that showed he was a demon.A sword lay at his side. But the one that made Elsword see red was a huge crystal suspended above the throne. It contained a woman, shrouded in a dark blue cloak, and pale blue hair framing her face. It was the Water Temple's caretaker.

Everyone knew about the lady of the Water Temple Shrine. She had been the one to control the power of the temple, keeping it from unleashing too much power and sinking into the waters. One day, she had disappeared without a trace, and her heir had been too inexperienced and weak to continue in her footsteps. The temple had sunk, and Hamel was covered in a dark aura soon afterwards.

Rena let out a breath next to Elsword. "That.. She is..."

Elsword confirmed it." The lady of the Water Temple Shrine."

Just then, the.. man..on the throne spoke. His voice was smooth and dark, and was full of mirth." Ah, what have we got here? The youngest ever to make it to the El Search party, an annoying magician girl, an elf of the light, the half-Nasod-half-human, one ancient Nasod, and.. ah. The son of Officer Helpherd Seiker." Chung tensed when he heard his father's name being mentioned. Elsword inwardly thought, that guy better watch out.. Chung gets mad, really mad, when someone calls him Seiker.

The man stood up." I'm rather disappointed that my subordinates were not able to hold back mere humans... and Nasods." He walked over to another glowing magic circle on the ground in front of him." It seems I will have to stop you." With that, he jumped in, and a moment later appeared in front of them, with the long, sharp sword in hand. "Shall we, then? For I am the Lord of the Abyss, Ran."

Ran charged at them, full force. With his quick reflexes, Elsword parried the blow, and went into a full-force sword fighting with the demon. In a few minutes, he succeeded in wounding Ran in a few places, although the wounds weren't enough to fell the monster completely.

Just as the redheaded knight whirled to land another strike, Raven saw a weakness in his guard, ad apparently so did Ran, as he dashed to jab at the hole in his defense.

Time slowed down, as the tip of the sword in Ran's hand pointed straight at Elsword's heart. The knight's eyes widened as he saw the blade aimed at him, but he knew it was too late to stop it. With a sinking heart, he thought, I won't be able to see Elesis again even in my dreams...

Then a with a shattering sound, a shining blue crystal pierced the black and red armor of the demon, and froze him in place. A bolt of lightning soon followed, along with a burning-hot meteor. When it cleared, Ran stayed frozen, with the power of magic, then thawed. He growled, and went into stoic-and summoned a large pink magic circle on the floor.

"Reverse Gravity!"

The warriors' feet were lifted up from the floor, and they slowly spiraled up into the air. They couldn't move, until Aisha felt the power draining out of her, and yelled," He's taking our power to fuel himself! Try and get out of the circle.

Elsword saw that Eve was free-she could practically fly in the air- and fervently hoped she could save glowed with a crimson aura, and even Elsword could feel the power radiating from the dark mage. He now knew what they were really up against. He said to himself in his head, Penensio said he lost most of his power. What will happen when Ran's in full strength?

He was shaken out of his thoughts by the unmistakeable sound of a portal opening and the swish of a blade. Currents of wind-powerful ones- swept past under Elsword's feet, and cut through Ran, disturbing him. The magic circle disappeared without a trace, and the five dropped down suddenly in a heap. From the bottom of it, Chung groaned. "Will you please get off me, you guys? I can't breathe." Aisha rolled off the top of the pile and stood up. She watched as Eve commanded her two assistants to attack the demon mage in every way imaginable. Ran went into stoic and slashed at the empress, but to no avail-Eve merely jumped up and landed on the opposite side. It seemed to be infuriating Ran. His attacks were getting more rash, putting in more power than he needed. Elsword muttered under his breath, "Great, if she can hold out and exhaust him, we can all-"

There was a yell, and a crash, as Eve knocked into one of the ice-covered walls, caught by surprise. Ran stood triumphantly with his sword outstretched, the blade glowing dark red with dark magic. The place where Eve had struck the wall had caved in, burying the empress in rubble. Oberon and Orphelia were frantically trying to dig her out, and were not succeeding very well. Aisha gasped and ran over to help them, reducing blocks of stone to bits and melting away ice."Rena, Raven, help with this!" the two ran over to help remove the enormous amount of rubble.

Elsword glowered at the laughing demon."You..you...!"

He was cut off by another voice, full of anger. "Go help Eve. I'll get him." Chung's voice was quiet, but held a dangerous edge. "But Chung-"

"He knows about my father." Chung cut him off sharply."I need to know, or at least avenge him or something. Please, let me handle this."

Elsword saw the determination burning in his friend's eyes and knew he couldn't stop him. So he sighed and ran over to where the rest of his friends were trying unsuccessfully to dig Eve out. Behind him was a crash as Chung slammed his Destroyer against Ran, and he spared a glance for his friend- sand and dust was flying everywhere, and Ran seemed rather surprised at Chung's strength. Aqua blue eyes glittered dangerously behind a mask, their owner attacking the demon magician furiously. He turned away, knowing Chung could probably hold his own.

Meanwhile, the others were removing dust and rubble from one corner of the cavern. One of Eve's hands had been revealed, and the others were working furiously to get the ton of rock and ice off, Raven and Aisha tearing apart stones with fire, and Rena kicking at the mixture of ice and rock-honestly, how did she do that without breaking every single bone in her legs?

He joined them, and started to pick up jagged pieces of rock and threw them into the wall. The rocks were heavier than they looked, and when he took off his gloves to get a better grip on the stones, they burned. He yelped, and Aisha warned him," They contain huge amounts of dark energy. Better not touch them with bare hands."

He grimaced." Yeah. I get it.. Thanks."

Behind him, a fight was still going on between Ran and their blond-haired friend. Ran's face wore a smirk as he parried Chung's attacks, but soon melted away from his face as Chung started to press him back against a wall. He bared his teeth as he took multiple hits from the heavy cannon- Elsword knew how much it hurt, from training. How Chung even managed to lift it, let alone swing it, remained a mystery to all of them.

Elsword turned around, to help get the rest of the rubble off Eve who had almost been uncovered. Just as he picked up another jagged rock, there was a bang, and Chung crashed into the wall next to Elsword, this time thankfully not hard enough to bring it down on top of him. He lay limp for a few seconds, and slowly got up, stifling a groan. Then he suddenly dashed at Ran again, with noticeably less force, and they engaged in battle once more.

The others noticed Chung's slowed movements and the less force behind his attacks. It had been a good many minutes since the demon and the guardian had fought, and he was wearing out. It was amazing, to be frank, that he'd held out for so long. Ran's smirk had returned, and it was now he who was attacking, and Chung who was barely deflecting the attacks.

"Eh.. Should I go hel- -" Aisha was interrupted in the middle of her sudden rant by Raven, who was standing next to Oberon, who was now holding his unconscious mistress in his arms." Hold on, what are you saying?"

Aisha, who had stopped with her mouth open in a perfect O, closed her mouth, and looked up at the ceiling. She pointed at it. "It's falling down. "

They all look up slowly at the cavern. Huge patches of ice crystals and razor-sharp stalactites rained down, barely missing Orphelia, who frowned and promptly smashed the rock to bits with a burst of pink from her elbow.

Elsword yelled out," Chung! The place is falling down! We gotta get the heck out of here!"

His friend looked over his shoulder in bewilderment, and stared up at the ceiling. His blue eyes glittered in shock behind the mask, and for the moment, he was distracted.

And Ran took that moment to attack.

Elsword suddenly realized what a fool he'd been to yell out and tell Chung that fact, he'd probably just sentenced Chung to a certain death.

Time slowed down just like when Elsword had been saved by Aisha, but this time, no one was actually close enough to help the armor- clad boy standing in front of them.

The sword came down, and Chung was slammed into the wall facing the others, and slid down to rest on the ground, his mask askew and blond hair covering his face. Blood tricked down one side of his face, staining yellow hair red.

Someone screamed, and it took a moment for Elsword to realize it was Aisha. He couldn't move, as he stared at his best friend lying there, bloody, and not moving an inch. He moved his eyes slowly from the white red- stained pile of armor to a certain silver- haired man who was the cause of the trouble in Pluone, and also the cause of the misery that Chung carried in his heart every day.

Ran, once again, laughed, and said, " I finally have eradicated the last of the Seiker family! I really thought someone of that blood line would actually be stronger, considering who his father is. But then, Helpherd Seiker wasn't exactly hard to get out of my way! Just a little dark magic to taint that crystal of his, and he's gone. And when I do the same to him," he pointed to Chung." It'll be fun to watch, a father and son both under my control. Not that the father is useful now, anyway."

Elsword ground his teeth, and watched Chung for any signs of life. Ran continued to talk, and he turned his attention back to the demon.

" Even the most famous of warriors have not defeated me, and this is when I have lost most of my power. Really, when I get my power back, I'll be indestructable! Not even he will be able to face me-" he pointed again to Chung-" and he is, I'm guessing, the most powerful one amongst you lowly humans."

" Got that right." A voice said quietly from behind Ran.

The moment Ran turned around, A burst of blue energy exploded and blew the demon fifty feet backwards. Elsword instictively closed his eyes the moment it happened, and even so, he could see an imprint of the light when he opened his eyes and took in the person standing in front of him- his best friend.

Chung looked tired, and was barely standing up with the help of his Destroyer. Elsword and the others just gaped, when a howl came from the other side of the room.

"I shall not forget this! You will all fall to the depths of hell by my own hands!" Ran staggered, as he summoned a glowing pink circle in front of him. " I may have been defeated this once, but never again!" He disappeared in a flash of pink.

They all stared at the spot where the pink magic circle was still fading. Elsword couldn't believe they had actually managed to defeat that..thing, and it had just given up. They continued to stare at the spot , until the same quiet voice said," Well, that's that."

They looked back at their blond-haired friend,and stared some more. Aisha stuttered," Chung,you..you..You look just about ready to collapse.."

He grinned tiredly. "Er.. well.. I'm kinda tired..." With that sentence, he did just that.

"Ah! No!" Rena dashed out and caught the boy before he could break his head on the ground. " He's out cold, understandibly." She called out to the rest of them.

Eve, who had gotten up without anyone noticing, said in a monotone voice," We should all head back soon. We do not know when more monsters will assault us. Also, the wound on Chung's head needs to be stitched, I believe."

Elsword replied in a light voice," Ah, he'll be fine. But we should go," he walked over to the place where he knew the pink portal lay," But the throne thing caved in on the portal.. Not like we can move _that. _It was hard enough to rescue Eve." He walked back to them." Ne, Aisha, can you teleport us back to the HQ?"

"Course. Wait a sec..." A familiar magical circle-this time blue- appeared at their feet again, and everyone stepped in. Aisha whispered an incantion, and they all were thrown into darkness for a millisecond, and-

Elsword opened his eyes, and was met with the roars and cheers of red-plumed knights, and a solemn-expressioned Penensio walking over to them. Penensio congratulated them, and invited them to join the knights in a celebration that would take place a few days later. Then they excused themselves and retired to their inn, where they all simulatedly collapsed onto their respective beds, and slept.

For once, nobody dreamed of anything.

* * *

A few days later-

"Eggs, flour, baking soda, some aqua, tea, and some lizard meat." Rena finished reading off from a long list of supplies, while a bored Elsword only half listened. " Raven's getting the rest of the stuff, so that's all you need to buy. Anything else, Aisha?" The group had volunteered to make some food and decorations for the celebration that would begin in the late afternoon.

The girl looked thoughtful for a moment." Erm.. Confetti, some icing, cookies, and...oh! Balloons!"

Elsword inwardly sighed." Now why am I the one that has to buy most of the stu- hey, stop pushing me out the door-ow!"

Aisha peeked her head out from the crack in the door." Yeah, yeah, so just go get the things we need,'kay? Rena and I have to prepare!"

"More like you burning the kitchen while Rena cleans up," Elsword muttered under his breath, earning a death glare from the purple-haired girl.

"Just go buy the things, Eldork, and buy the right things, not like the last time!" She slammed the door in his face.

Elsword sighed some more, and let his feet carry him to the market. Girls, he thought, are so hard to understand let his feet carry him to the market, and bought the things needed without really looking at the price. He carried them back to the inn, ignoring the stares from passerbys-the famous warrior Elsword carrying groceries?-and arrived at the door to the inn. He unlocked it, and stepped in, yelling, "I'm back!"

Silence.

Elsword sighed. Was everybody out or something? He walked over to the kitchen, and bent down to put the bags down. When he looked up, he saw a chair with Aisha in it.

She was gagged and tied up, and was staring with wide eyes at Elsword. His red eyes widened to match hers,and he took a step forward, and stuttered," Wh-What.. Aisha, are you-"

She was shaking her head wildly, warning him not to come closer. He took another step, not getting it, and reached out a hand to untie her.

He was grabbed from behind, and a cloth was thrown over his mouth and nose. He smelled something, something sickly sweet, and only had the time to think, fell into a trap..-before his head went blank and he fell into darkness.

* * *

**Oooh- a cliffhanger-**

**This has got to be the longest chapter I've ever written. 5,045 words, not counting the AN. :D**

**I hope you enjoyed it.. And I wanted you all to know, I can't really update regularly, because of my parents-I don't think they'll approve of FFN..- but I'll try! :D**

**Thanks to all that reviewed!**


	5. Chapter 5 Cloaked in Red and Black

**Hey- me again-**

**And back with a chap of this rather depressing thing.**

**:3 I'm not going to abandon this fic, although when you all don't review, I have the mind to.. It makes me sad.**

**I don't care if you post a review that's negative, ALL reviews are welcome!**

**And someone pointed out the spelling error in Chap.4- Avalansh/ Avalanche.**

**I didn't go on the NA Elsword, and I don't know how you spell it, so THANKS! And yeah, it says Avalansh on the KR one..wait what?**

**Enough with the AN, I'll post this!**

**Elsword- Lord Knight**

**Aisha - Elemental Master**

**Rena - Wind Sneaker was changed from GA due to the progression of the story :3**

**Raven - Blade Master **

**Eve - Code Empress**

**Chung - Iron Paladin**

**Uh, well, this is proofread, but I miss some errors, being just a middle schooler, so I'd appreciate it if you could point out any mistakes!**

* * *

Tired.

That's how Elsword felt as he opened his eyes, his vision blurry and fogged. He could only see blurs of gold, violet, and silver, and he squinted to make out the shapes better.

SLAP.

His vision returned sharply into focus, and he was suddenly staring into Eve's golden eyes, her hand raised and his cheek stinging. He opened his mouth to say something, maybe something intellegent like "Ow," or " What are we doing here,",but all that came out of his mouth was," Werremi..?"

Rena, who had immediately understood his slurred language, answered." No one knows. We all were blindfolded and gagged, and none of us has any power in us to do anything."

Aisha, who was sitting next to an unconscious Chung, said," You were the last one to wake up... Well, except for Chung." She gestured to the boy slumped next to her.

"And you being out for such a long time hadn't helped. You were our last hope, and you just fell into the trap like that. And out for at least three hours, Elsword." Eve crossed her arms.

"Well, I didn't know it was going to happen. And why did you slap me to wake me up? I was hardly the only one who's out cold, and I don't really see you smacking Chung in the face while he's unconscious." At Eve's stinging remark, he retorted back sharply.

"That's different, Elsword. Chung's injured." Aisha spoke up in Eve's defense, lifting the unconscious boy's hair up from his forehead and showing Elsword a blackish-red mark on Chung's head, rapidly swelling.

He winced." Ow, that looks like it hurts. What happned to him?"

Raven, who had not spoken from his corner for a long time, answered his question this time." When they took us, Chung struggled, and they, erm.. had to knock him out. And not in a subtle way." He sighed." But that's not important, the question is, where exactly are we? And who took us?"

Elsword put his head in his arms, and wondered about their captor. It could be Banthus, but the burly man was way too weak for the Elgang now. Wally? No, was he not blown off that flying ship? The Nasods from the core of the Altera Islands could be a possibility, but they'd destroyed the core thoroughly, much to Eve's sastifaction. Elves of the Dark, like Chloe? But they wouldn't dare do anything now, with their commander defeated. Then that left-

He gasped, and at the same time Aisha raised her head suddenly from her arms. They both looked at each other, having nearly read each other's minds, and blurted out," Ran!"

Rena looked at them, confused. "What?"

Aisha explained it to the rest of the group. "Ran, he should have been the one to kidnap us. He's mad enough to do so." Elsword nodded vigorously, though wincing when it hurt his still-fogged head.

"Hmm.. That is definitely a strong possibility." Raven looked deep in thought." But if Ran took us, why did he take us here? And what is he planning to do with us?"

" That's what I'm afraid of." Rena whispered quietly, and the group fell silent, pondering the latest question.

* * *

In the beautiful city of Hamel, a hooded figure walked up to the Crimson Knights' headquarters, ignoring the suspicious stared it received from passerbys. It had been such a long time since he/she/it had stood in front of these red oak doors. The person reached out a pale hand covered with a bloodred gauntlet, and knocked.

"Yes?" The door opened, and a knight dressed in armor and a red cloak answered the door. " What can I do for you?"

The lips under the cloak moved, and he/she/it said," I'd like to see the leader of the Crimson Knights, please."

The knight hesitated." I'm very sorry, but he is currently very busy regarding the disappearance of some warriors."

"It's important. Please." The person insisted.

The knight hesitated once more, and asked," Very well. Who shall I tell him came here?"

"Tell him it's an old friend."

The knight nodded, bowed, and walked down the long corridor, and slipped inside a door. A few minutes later, he came back, and said," He will see you. Please come in."

He/she/it followed the knight into the hallway, and eventually stopped in front of a door. The knight promptly stepped aside when the person told him it was a private business, and he/she/it took a deep breath. A hand reached out, and knocked on the sleek wood of the door.

A man's deep voice answered," Come in!"

The cloaked person stepped in, and Penensio rose from his chair behind his desk. He frowned." Excuse me, but may I ask who exactly you are?"

The same hand covered with a glove reached out once more, and slowly raised the hood. Penensio had a sudden sense of deja vu as he stared at the woman before him.

Long, flaming hair, tied in a ponytail and braided. Impossibly beautiful features, angular and regal. And crimson red eyes that shone with determination and sorrow.

The same as a certain young man Penensio was just about to file a missing persons' report for.

"Elesis!" He gasped, and the girl smiled.

"Long time no see, Penensio."

The two friends embraced, both overwhelmed by the sheer fact that their friend was standing before them.

When they separated, Penensio ushered Elesis into a chair, and the two chatted about their daily lives.

Untill Elesis brought up a heavier subject.

"Eh, Penensio..." Elesis hesitated, and asked," Do you know where my brother is? The people at Velder told me he and his friends would be here."

The smile present on Penensio's face just a moment ago melted off his face as though wiped clean. He coughed.

"Why are you making a face like that?" Elesis asked,worried."Are they not here? Or did something happen to them?"

He sighed. He had to break it to her, though he hated to do so." Elesis, they.." She listened attentively.

He took a deep breath, and said," They've been captured. Some cowardly bunch caught them off guard as they were out."

Elesis gasped. Here she was, finally in the same world as her brother, stepping on the same earth, _yet she couldn't meet him._In an urgent tone, she asked," Who do you think took them?"

"I believe it was the Lord of the Abyss, Ran, that they defeated a while ago. Elsword told me he was..rather powerful." Penensio saw the look on Elesis's face and warned her," Don't try to go after them, especially alone. He is extremely dangerous, we know, because the whole lot came back half unconscious and exhausted."

"I've got no choice. I have a responsibility to take care of my that I've done a vey good job of it." She said bitterly.

"Penensio, please. Let me go. If I can't go alone, let me go with some of your knights. Elsword and his group aren't exactly weak, if they managed to defeat him once with a party of six,a bigger group of skilled knights can also. Please, Penensio. I have to save him." Elesis was practically begging him now, water pooling in her eyes so much like her brother's.

Penensio sighed again. He saw that look in her eyes again, and knew he couldn't stop her. He thought for a moment, then rang a bell sitting on his desk. A knight immediately came to the door, asking,"Sir?"

"Prepare twenty-five of our best knights and let them know we are attacking the Lord of the Abyss's lair the day after tomorrow. We are getting the Elgang." Penensio ordered the knight.

"Yes sir." The knight left the room to carry out the orders, but not before looking over his boss's shoulders at a familiar face, and making a surprised face.

Penensio turned back to Elesis, whose face was now streaked with tears of gratitude. She thanked him over and over, until her friend put a hand to her shoulder.

"It was nothing. And I know you can bring them back safely.I would have gone sooner, but these two days are when the full moon is out- the time where the demons' power is strongest." He smiled, and Elesis wiped her eyes, putting on a brave face.

"Thank you. I have to go to prepare for the raid.. See you then, Penensio._With_ Elsword."She smiled once more, and left the room after the knight, walking out of those oak doors with a lighter heart.

Penensio sat back down, and whispered to himself," Good luck."

* * *

Elsword sat in a corner of the room, thinking about their miserable situation. How he wished his dream could come true, that Elesis would just appear out of nowhere and rescue them from this hell hole like she did sometimes in one of his more pleasant dreams. But that wouldn't happen. She was missing for four years- no way she could just come, and at the exact time like he could dream, right? Of his sister, the happy days?

He could be in dream forever, couldn't he?

The clattering of a door opening and a bright pink light shining through the cracks of the iron door that, Raven quickly found, was impossible to destroy even with a metal fist suddenly drew them from their slumber. The light disappeared, and it banged open, nearly hitting Aisha leaning on the wall. It revealed two demons, creating a shadow against the concrete door. The two demons stepped in, and said something in slurred English. Elsword just managed to catch the word 'blond', before one of the monsters grabbed Chung by his long yellow hair with one hand, and covered his mouth with the other. Chung struggled, but weaker than usual, still half-unconscious from waking up barely half an hour ago.

Elsword stepped forward, and glared at the demon." Let my friend go."

The demon not holding Chung made a hissing noise that Elsword guessed passed as laughter in the demon society." We are to take him by Lord Ran's orders...Resist, and he will get hurt..."It pointed at Chung.

Elsword looked into his best friend's eyes, wide and alert, but he sensed fear in them. Before he could do anything, The demons dragged him away, shutting the door firmly.

A few minutes later, a blood-chilling scream came from not-so-far-away, and it was suddenly cut off by the bang of a door as it closed. Elsword turned around, worry in his eyes, and saw the same reflected in his friends' pupils.

* * *

Elesis looked out the window. There was a pink streak in the east, signaling dawn was near. Soon, the sun would rise, but to Elesis, it meant that soon, she would see her brother. How she wished time would go by faster.

The top of the sun peeked out shyly from the horizon. A few more hours, and it would be blazing in the sky.

Elesis absentmindedly polished her sword, although it was wiped to the utmost shine and would soon be covered in demon's blood. She needed something to calm her nerves, and the back-and-forth motion of her hand helped.

Just a few more hours, and she'd be meeting with her friend and his knights.

Just a few more hours, and she'd be inside a cave, taking down monsters left and right.

Just a few more hours, and she'd be hugging her brother, for the first time in four years.

'Just wait a little more,please, Elsword.' She thought.'I'm coming for you.'

* * *

**And there.**

**That was the end of the fifth chapter, guys! And a crappy one at that!**

**With the introduction of one new character- !**

**PLEASE REVIEW.. I'd appreciate it if you would leave just a short 1-sentence review.. :)**

**I dunno why I decided the demons would take Chung away... SADIST!**

**But I think you know I'm that kinda person now..right?**

**Oh, and a P.S.: The Elgang's point of view and Elesis's point of view are not set in the same day! The Elgangs' view are about two days behind. :)**


	6. Chapter 6 Burning Pink, and Fading White

**Hey- me again-**

**And I updated! :D How depressing is THAT?**

**This was written slowly due to my mom 'accidentally' throwing my iPod into the trash, and me drawing Chung and Eve's son-from TheSapphireNemesis's story, Death Stories(READ IT PEOPLE...)-..Yeah, I had up to the 7th chapter in my iPod, and now it's gone out the window. Really, mom? And also due to me going on Elsword with my friend's ID and turning her Sheath Knight into a Infinity Sword. IT'S SO FREAKING AWESOME,GO AND PLAY IT IF YOU HAVE AN ID ON NEXON! But it's also annoying when you meet them in PvP. I hate them and their stupid Rage Cutter sometimes.**

**And THANK YOU for all of the reviews, you guys! And a special thanks to oORinOo, who reviewed each and every chapter! This chapter is for her.. I think :)**

**I was actually surprised when I saw all the reviews I got, because my story is crappy. 13,000 words, five measly chapters, and 18 REVIEWS! I LOVE YOU ALL!**

**Also, I'm aware Elsword's sister's name is Elsa :3. I liked the idea of Elesis from Grand Chase being his sister, because originally, Elsword was a follow-up game to GC, though the storyline strayed um, a lot far from it :). **

**Okay, enough with the crap, let's go on to the thing you've all awaited the least. The next chapter.**

* * *

The sun rose in the eastern sky, signaling the second day of their imprisonment.

Elsword looked down on the ground, propped against the wall and head between his knees. He wished he had his sword with him right now, so he could attack the solid and indestructable stone walls all he wanted to take out his frustration.

But he wished and hoped for a lot of things right now. He hoped the screams that they had barely heard through the thick walls weren't Chung's, he wished they'd bring his best friend back, whoever had taken him, and preferably unharmed. He needed someone else to talk to other than Aisha;there were some things girls just didn't understand. Most of all, he wished with all his heart that he'd wake up from this nightmare, the first time he'd really wanted to wake from a dream.

He looked at the watch on his right arm. It was four o'clock, and everyone but he was asleep for the moment. He should get some sleep too, he might need energy for whatever came their way today. He sighed, a whisper of wind in the cold air, and leaned agaisnt the wall, and put his head in his arms.

And fell into a dark and fitful sleep.

Like always, his slumber was filled with unsettling dreams. This one was another blurry one, like looking at a screen through rolling waters. Through the haze, he could see people fighting, and blue-tinted monsters fighting back, and flashes of pink, like what he'd seen Ran and some lesser monsters summon when using dark magic. A blast of blue met the pink, molding into fireworks of soft violet like Aisha's hair.

Pools of darker-than-normal demon blood decorated the icy floor; the demons were being forced back, and were reducing in numbers rapidly as the team of fighters advanced. When the leader of them slashed through the last monster, and stepped forward, draped in a red cloak, Elsword suddenly recognized the man- Penensio. Another soldier standing next to the knight turned his head to look in Elsword's 's curiosity suddenly sparked, and he reached out a hand to take off the soldier's helmet, and-

Clank.

Everybody woke from their sleep, instantly alert, a result of countless nights in the forests of Elrios waking up to the sounds of monsters approaching. The demons before that had taken their blond-haired companion away were back, along with the said blond, them dragging a limp Chung between them. They threw him into the cell, emitting a harsh throaty sound Elsword again translated as laughter as he fell lifelessly into Rena's arms.

Rena screamed as she turned Chung around and saw the cuts covering his upper body and face. Some were deep, some were long, and some were shallow, but they all glowed with dark-magical-pink, as though someone poured a glow-in- the- dark substance into his blood. Chung's eyes were closed, covered with his straw-colored bangs. When Rena reached out a hand and brushed it from his face, Chung gasped, and opened his eyes.

Everyone took a step back, except for Rena; she merely let out a burst of air, and everyone stared into the blue orbs, now glowing pink like the wounds on his body. A few seconds later, they returned to their normal sea- blue color with paw print pupils, and the boy groaned and lifted up a hand to cover his eyes. Everyone noticed the pentagram on his wrist,bleeding, carved in with such precision it could not have been done by a knife.

The sign of dark magic.

Aisha knelt next to him, and used what meager magical power she had to examine Chung's body. She gasped when she felt the feedback rushing into her head. She lowered her lips to Chung's ear, and whispered," What was it?"

He was silent. Then Chung moved his hand so that his eyes were barely visible, and barely audibly, whispered back," D..dark magic. From the Dark El."

Aisha got up from the floor, and Elsword immediately asked," What did that to him?"

Four pairs of eyes stared at the girl. "The Dark El. I think those demons used a massive amount of dark magic on him. They don't usually leave marks, but..in severe cases, they can leave signs."

Eve asked her quietly," What happens if the person is subjected to more magic than he possibly could stand?"

Rena answered her, propping up a now-unconscious-once-more Chung against the wall next to her." The subject dies, or is controlled by the magic. In Chung's case, he's stronger than most people, but his Guardian Stone can be infected by it, therefore controlling it," She pointed to the necklace around Chung's neck, with a blue-green crystal strung onto it." like a pure El shard could be affected by dark energy."

Everyone was quiet. They all knew the story of their friend's father, who had been slowly affected by the magic while fighting for Hamel. Ironic, if his son managed to share the same fate.

Aisha finally broke the silence." If black magic is forced on Chung any more, the Stone might do just that." She pointed to the unconscious boy's neck again, and everyone saw, for the first time, the black swirls deep inside the gem, slowly fading but there, the proof that the El was affecting Chung.

Raven coughed, and said," Well, we'd better get to sleep again. You don't know what's coming our way now." He sat down in his corner, and again put his head in his arms, but not before saying," And Chung probably would appreciate some peace and quiet, unconscious or not."

The rest of them glanced at each other, then retired to their respective places in the small cell.

And silence once again fell over the group, now complete with six members.

* * *

The Lord of the Abyss sat on his throne, pondering the latest report from his minions that a large group looking to be a search party had entered the very outskirts of his domaine. He had scryed the group, and saw them cutting down monsters left and right. He counted seven-and twenty soldiers.

Ran scoffed. Ordinary soldiers could not withstand his minions' power for long, he knew. Only that red-headed boy's gang-what's his name,Elsword?- had been able to take them-and him-on, and that blond-haired-white-armor... had been annoying. The son of Officer Helfurd, he should have expected that kind of power.

It had been immensly sastifying when he'd punished that little squirt. And it'd be a thousand times better when he crushed the approaching search party and the hopes of being rescued with one hand. Because he, and nobody else, was powerful enough to conquer Pluone, and eventually Elrios. The light from the sun that those pesky humans loved so much would be doused, and the world would fall into eternal darkness, the way he liked it. He would be the one behind it, crushing anyone daring to oppose him under his feet.

And when he conquered the whole of Elrios, he could release Sasha from her enchanted sleep in the crystal ball behind him.

Ran got up from his throne in a lithe motion, and rose up into the air to float next to the crystal. Through the milky haze, he could see the pastel blue strands of Sasha's hair, poking out through the hood that marked her as the Lady of the Frozen Water Shrine. Her eyes were closed, but he knew, that under those pale eyelids were sky-blue eyes that had made him so happy, so long ago. Before the contract he had made with the demons when the destruction of the El had happened.

He would see those eyes again. And this time, those eyes would not reject him.

* * *

Elesis' sword made a sickening crunching sound as she slashed through the last monster in the cavern. She lowered her blood-stained sword tiredly into its scabbard, and Penensio wearily walked over to her. Everyone had been fighting for the whole day, all very exhausted but no one lost. Everyone, even Elesis, had been slowly losing hope of ever getting to the end of the chain of tunnels, as cave after cave emerged full of demons.

" Nearly there, I think. But for today, we should rest. It's been a long you need to get that wound patched up, it may get infected." He pointed to a shallow, but long gash on her shoulder, dripping blood.

Elesis was determined to see her brother that day." No, we don't have time. We don't know what...that demon called Ran may be doing to them, and I'm fine. "

Penensio sighed. He should have expected that." Elesis, you and I both know you're not okay, and everyone knows everyone's tired. We all need our full strength for the last fight. I promise you we'll go back tomorrow, with six more people.."

She hung her head. Elesis knew that her friend was right, but she just...could not wait. She looked up at Penensio, and for the first time, Penensio saw the desperation in her flame-colored eyes, reflected in her eyes because of fear that she would never see him again, fear that they would fail, and fear that this trip was all for nothing. Elesis hung her head again, and to her surprise, hot tears were running down her face, carving glittering tracks and dripping onto the ground, forming small pools atop the ice.

Penensio held the emotions back, and put a hand on his friend's shaking shoulders. He guided her next to a campfire set next to a tent that some of the other knights were working to set up, and poured her a cup of tea from a kettle set atop the fire. Elesis accepted the mug without a word, and sat there staring into the fire with eyes the same color as it.

After a moment of silence, with the only sounds being the crackling sound of fire and the quiet thumps of boots on ice, Penensio asked," What were you doing these last years?"

Elesis didn't answer. Penensio opened his mouth to say something else, when she answered," I regretted leaving."

He turned to her with an inquiring look, and she continued." Days before I left, there was a meeting between the knights. It was about scouting far beyond Elrios to find another land, if there was any, for people who could help us in retaking the El. You were off on a mission then."

She took a sip of tea." They asked me to go, and I accepted. I wouldn't tell anyone, as it was a secret mission, and leave at the first light of dawn. I didn't tell anyone, not even Elsword... "

" He was young. I thought he wouldn't have been able to go without telling anyone. Now that I see he's kept the fact that he had a family from his closest friends for so long.. I was wrong. And if I had just declined.. This might have all changed."

" If you had declined, Elsword would never have become the warrior he is now, Elesis. Don't blame yourself. By leaving, you saved a lot of Elrios..." Penensio attempted to console her, but Elesis shook her head and rested her forehead on her knees.

Another moment of quiet passed. It was, again, Penensio to break it, when he asked absentmindedly," So did you find another land?" He didn't expect an answer.

"Yes. It was very similar to the Elrios continent.. I met friends there too... But it was also attacked by the forces of the dark. They promised to come when they were sure they could save their own land. I couldn't ask them to abandon their own land.." She smiled when she saw the awestruck look on Penensio's face. "Why do you look so surprised?"

He said, astonished," Surprised? Why? There was no knowledge about any lands beyond Elrios! You are the one to discover another world, the discoverer! And you ask _why_ I'm surprised?

She laughed, the first in a few days. " Ah, that doesn't matter. We should get some sleep for tomorrow.. Good night, Penensio, and good luck to all of us tomorrow too..." She got up and disappeared behind a tent.

Penensio stared after her, before sighing and walking over to his own tent. " Good night."

"...And good luck tomorrow, Elesis."

* * *

**THAT WAS A SUCKY CHAPTER, I ADMIT.**

**AND IT WAS A LONG TIME SINCE I UPDATED. I'm SO SORRY! D:**

**It was because I was... busy in an airplane headed for LAX, and also because of a certain..._incident_ regarding an iPod.. You guys get it, right?**

**I'll try to update more... :)../**

**AH I GOTS TO GO.. THE PATCH FOR ELSWORD IS DONE! :D**

**Sayonara, minna-san, and see you soon!**


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